Educational Clinic for Drug and Violence Prevention

2008-11-01 11:53:38
Gdynia (POLAND), October 2008

By the end of October 2008 the Personal Development Program for youth started again. Our educators visited several schools and they invited high school students to join personal development groups. More than 70 students answered the invitation. Group work is going to start on November 8th. Young people will work on their own personal growth throug workshops and involvement into volunteer service. On the photo below, students are puting their names on the list asigning them to groups.

Educational Clinic was born in 2004 from the project run in schools by the Arrupe Center. While training teachers and parents in drug prevention we were asked to meet with teenagers as well. The requests came from almost all schools of Gdynia and Gdansk. At the end of each meeting, we asked students of age 12-18 to write anonymously something they never told to anybody or what they told to somebody but were ignored and put down. These are some fragments of thousands of similar texts:

• My mother is an alcoholic. She told me many times that she didn't love me and that she regretted giving me birth. I take drugs to forget about that all.
• I am 16 years old. For the last three years my father has been drinking alcohol, (...) and now my mother started to drink as well. I didn't tell anyone because I was afraid and I am still afraid.
• My girlfriend is addicted to amphetamine. I don't know what to do to help her.
• I was sniffing glue and solvent, and nobody knows about it. I have broken up with Szymek and he blackmails me because I have another boyfriend now. He wants me to come back to him. He threatens me that he will commit suicide and I don't know if I shall come back to him. I am afraid of him.
• My fellows are criminals, junkies and dealers. I also take drugs. I don't know if it is bad or good.
• I have been beaten by my older sister for the last three years. Last time she beat me so hardly that I didn't leave my house for two days. I told my mum that I fell down from the stairs.
• I am a drug addict - at least I think I am. I take amphetamine, ecstasy, I smoke hashish and grass. I was raped a year ago. My parents are alcoholics. I don't want to live, I am afraid that I will not achieve anything in my life!
• My friend dragged me into prostitution. I take drugs every day because I don't know what to do.
• One day I decided to kill my father because he was never beside me when I needed him. He appeared only when he needed something. One night I was standing above him when he was sleeping and I was ready to shoot at him but something kept me from doing that.

Some of the students wrote their names and mobile phone numbers. On several notes we noted desperate sentences like: help me please, do not leave me alone...

It was the beginning. Our response was immediate. We cannot leave those kids without help so we established an educational institution working on streets, answering intervention phones, negotiating between parents and children, running extracurricular activities for kids experiencing violence at home, giving educational and spiritual support for entire family, helping with practical assistance those who were lost and desperate - first of all, through teaching them basic skills necessary to live with dignity in the city and helping them to make true their dreams.

You can help our activity sending your donation to our banking account:

latest news

On public speaking
Warszawa-Falenica, August 12, 2011 | 2012-01-05 08:06:15

In August 12, 2011 an international group of students took part in the session on 'What we can get from biblical rethorics to improve our public speaking' as a part of the project run by the European Center for Communication and Culture.

(more >>)

International Jesuit Education Leadership Program in Gdansk
Eastern European IJELP | 2011-07-07 08:28:10

International Jesuit Education Leadership Program (IJELP) started in Gdansk on July 5,2011. This year we have participants from five different countries. Trainers came from USA, Holland, Italy and Poland. It is the last session of IJELP after 14 years of the program addressed to educational leaders from Eastern Europe and Middle East.

(more >>)

New center for alcohol abuse prevention in Drohobych
Drohobych, June 25, 2011 | 2011-06-29 16:01:28

On June 25, Ivan Hnativ and Wojciech Żmudziński SJ have met in Drohobych to initiate the activity of the Catholic Counseling Center for people addicted to alcohol. The Center will start in few days in the parish church led by Fr. Ivan. Those who are looking for help will receive here pedagogical and spiritual support as well as they will be invited to make abstinence vows in the solemn liturgical setting. Men who decided to dedicate their time to help others have been saved from the dependency many years and now want to share their experience of freedom and to testify that sober life is beautiful and meaningful. All the best for the beginning.

(more >>)

Second session on fundraising in Lviv
Lviv, June 23-24, 2011 | 2011-06-29 15:37:36

In June 23-24, the Ukrainian Catholic schools' headmasters met in Lviv to learn about fundraising. It was the second session financed by the Communicantes Foundation. The second day of the meeting, led by Wojciech Zmudzinski SJ from the Arrupe Center, was dedicated to such topics as cooperation with business, effective research of individual donors, internal and external case statement.

(more >>)